Rain Falling on Dry Ground

My late parents lived in Phoenix, AZ for many years after they retired, and although I was never very attracted to that part of the world one thing I always fondly remember was the smell of rain falling on parched ground when it's really really hot.

For those of you not familiar with the geography, Phoenix is located in what you might call ”scrub desert” land. It's pleasant enough in the winter and there's occasional moderate rain from November through March, while the rest of the time it is typically bone dry and hot as hell.

Phoenix is the only airport from which I have missed a flight because it was canceled due to high heat. Yes, that’s really a thing. Planes can’t get enough lift to take off under extreme heat conditions.

Anyway, Phoenix is basically purgatory, with the exception of late July and part of August when what is locally known as ”monsoon season” occurs, which means frequent brief the very heavy afternoon thunderstorms.

By mid afternoon, the air will often have been heated up to 115 degrees (46C for the metric folks), baking everything around, and then the rain falls… and there’s a particular scent of ozone and sagebrush in the air that’s hard to forget, and the temperatures often drop as much as 30 degrees in a matter of minutes.

What brings this to mind right now is that we have had a very long dry spell around here, and there are a number of forest fires burning in the mountains around us… and a short while ago I heard thunder in the distance.

Some rain would certainly help put out the fires, and give those hard working smokejumpers and fire fighters a break!

Something we haven't seen in a long time! All the colored areas represent rain the the air.

Looking at the radar map, it has suddenly blazed to life all across our region, and when I went outside a short while back I could literally smell the rain in the air.

And I think I will end this post as a somewhat short one, and just head back outside to watch the storms build and roll in... even though it is quite late.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great rest of your weekend!

How about you? Do you have extreme weather where you live? Are you familiar with the smell that goes with rain falling on hot dry ground after a long drought? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.08.18 00:59PDT
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